Stern Summer Accounting Prework

Dear Students,

Welcome to Stern! Please read this entire page carefully as it contains important information.

Before arriving at Stern, you need to do accounting prework and pass self-assessments for the following reasons:

• Our students find that learning some of the material at their own pace before they arrive makes the fall more manageable. (You will be amazed by how much there is to do from the moment you arrive.) This is especially valuable for students who have little or no accounting background, who otherwise often find the course overwhelming.
• The prework allows the course to focus on real financial statements instead of getting bogged down in bookkeeping. This makes the in-class time more interesting and valuable, and will make you more competitive when you begin to meet recruiters in the fall.

If you do not have an Accounting background, the prework will take 20-40 hours. It is based on materials you will receive from Stern – the Financial Accounting Tutor 8.0 CD and paper-based problem sets. (Please do NOT use older editions. Also note that the CD materials and problem sets cannot be accessed via the Web.)

For technical support, please contact Almaris.

To give you feedback and to give you an incentive to do the prework on time, we have designed four online accounting progress tests. Please register immediately at https://www.almaris.com/assess/ to view the submission deadlines for the progress tests. Use the following group names if you are a FULL TIME student:

• Use SternSummer as the group name if you are joining in Summer.
• Use SternFall as the group name if you are joining in Fall.

The assessment system is described at https://www.almaris.com/services/members.html.

The deadlines are designed to help you pace yourself through the material and can be found once you register on the Almaris website.  If you plan to travel or must be unavailable for other reasons when tests are due, finish them in advance.  If you cannot, please contact MBA Academic Advising (advising@stern.nyu.edu) and explain why you need an extension and they will arrange it for you. Some of you will be quite busy in the summer, but the demands of an intellectually rigorous school will keep you even busier. We expect you to manage your time.

If you fail to score above 80% on each progress test, you will be required to review the material with the TAs during the preterm in August. The total charge for all of these sessions is $150 and they may take 7 hours spread over several days. We are requiring this for the following reasons:

• We want you to have an incentive to read the prework carefully and try your best to pass the progress tests.
• If you do struggle with the prework, then you need these help sessions to prepare you for the course.
• The same TAs will be assisting the core course. Working with them in the preterm will facilitate your interaction with them during the core course.

At the end of these TA sessions, you will go through another assessment with your TA to help you identify any topics for which you need additional help during the core course.

If you have questions about the administration of prework, please contact advising@stern.nyu.edu.

If you have technical problems with the CD or the accounting assessment web site, please contact Almaris at support@almaris.com.

If you have any unresolved issues or have questions about the accounting content, please email Professor Dan Gode at dgode@stern.nyu.edu or call him at 212-998-0021. He will be teaching the Corporate Financial Reporting core course to full-time MBA students.